Blog - Meghan Kowalski

The Weekly Wrap: September 6, 2026

9/6/2026

There were two days in a row this week that I woke, unexpectedly, from a deep sleep before 6am. Pair that with an unplanned late night because of a rowdy thunderstorm and my brain was complete mush.

I dragged through the work day on Friday. Thank goodness it was a work from home day. I stayed in cozy clothes and drank some extra coffee. At one point, I caught myself just blinking at my laptop screen without comprehending anything. It was not the best day.

But now it's the middle of a long weekend and we're trying to soak in some extra pool time. It's not the last pool weekend of the season, but it might be the best chance left to savor a cooling dip in hot weather. Then again, DC always has a week in October that feels like July.

I'm still catching up on sleep so maybe a nap in the lounger by the pool is also warranted.

Plane taps. [WaPo - gift link]
The point of the pied-a-terre tax. [The Atlantic - gift link]
Alternatives to shopping when you're looking for a dopamine hit. [The Life Edit]
Handwriting, as much as I love it, is not a magical solution. [Engaged Learning Collective]
Halfway through reading this newsletter, I went to update my library's website. [Stop Making It Hard]
Crayfish are invading the Netherlands. [The Atlantic - gift link]

Dolly wrote the anthem for a movement that's still at work. [Planet Money]
Seashells are the story of humanity, earth, and our climate. [Short Wave]
Sports betting is not a sound investment strategy. [The Indicator]
1-800 history (and you'll likely get a jingle stuck in your head). [99% Invisible]

The Sheep Detectives is way better than it has any right to be. The premise is chaos. There's no way a movie about CGI sheep solving a murder should work. But it does. And it does it really well. This film is utterly charming. And the way the sheep actually solve the crime makes sense. [Amazon Prime]

I messed up making one-pan basil chicken meatballs with “orzotto." I skipped putting the lemon zest in the meatballs because I thought it would be unnecessary. Turns out, it was a vital flavor component. Also, I criminally under seasoned the meat mixture. But, aside from that, this one was good. The orzotto ends up being wonderfully cheesy. [Caroline Chambers]
I might have been trying to force fall with one pan apple cinnamon pork chops. I dropped the pork chops in the sous vide instead of searing them off. And I added the cloves to the apple and onion mixture. I did toss the pork back in the pan at the end to mix it all together. This dish made our kitchen smell like an autumnal wonderland, particular because I paired it with roasted sweet potatoes. [SkinnyMs]

The Weekly Wrap: August 30, 2026

8/30/2026

The news alerts were not kind this week.

When the notices about the passings of Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Yayoi Kusama landed in my inbox, I was genuinely sad.

I was not alone in my feelings.

People have shared widely about how each of these artists impacted their lives and communities. And those stories have been of uplift, recognition, and joy. In our grief, we shared the widespread influence of these amazing people. It's heartening to see nothing put positivity shared in those stories.

I think our grief is more profound because Parton, Curie, and Kusama were all creators. Not in the "content creators" trend of today, but in the true meaning of the word. They took their medium, whatever it was, and made something. They made us feel. They made us think. They made art where there was none before.

They were human. They made human things. And they shared their gifts with the world.

They will each be missed.

Hit the unsubscribe button. [The Life Edit]
The politics of a cinched waist. [NOTUS]

Following in the steps of Lewis and Clark. [Short Wave]
How the rocks moved. [Atlas Obscura]
This episode gave me a list of more adulting things to do. [The Savvy Patient]
Dolly left us a gift. [Atlas Obscura]

We finished The Last Ship. The final season was not the best, but I mean that more for production and plotting. The story was good, the writing punched above its weight, but the CGI was a dumpster fire. Missiles would explode and engulf things in flames, and then there would be no damage to the item hit. Also, the final scene is hokey fan service. I was okay with that. [Netflix]
Nashville leaves Netflix in a few weeks. Luckily, the husband didn't complain when I asked if I could binge the last two seasons as fast as possible. This show is purely a telenovella at this point. Once you use that framing it feels less over the top. The music continues to be the best part. [Netflix]

When I need a quick, weeknight dinner, it's hard to go wrong with shrimp and white beans with spinach and feta. The hardest (and most time consuming) part of this dish is peeling the shrimp. I would use a little less broth next time. It took a bit for that the cook down. [skinnytaste]
When I bought a bag of farro, I didn't think it would last forever. It seems to never end! To help use up more of the bag, I made chickpea, beet, and cucumber salad as my lunch meal prep. Aside from worrying about getting beet juice everywhere, this one is easy and tasty. But my cutting board does end up looking like a crime scene. [Eating Well]

Whenever I see one of those lifehacks online, I presume they are too good to be true. Because, often, they are. So I was amazed when the hack of microwaving corn on the cob was as easy as the internet claimed. I will never cook corn another way. This was so easy and you don't end up with silks stuck to everything. You do need to cut off the bottom row of corn though. I didn't do that with the first ear and it was a bit hard to shake off the husk. [inthekitchenwithmatt]

The Weekly Wrap: August 23, 2026

8/23/2026

During my solo week at home, I ended up watching a few movies that were pure nostalgic picks.

I can't say they all held up after a few decades, but one thing hit unexpectedly: the end credit songs. When the screen turned to the scroll and the song kicked in, my brain was back to when I first watched these films. It was a wonderful feeling!

I was shocked by how I still knew the lyrics. Since no one was around, I ended up singing along. It's amazing what musical memories can do to you. I think I might need to make a playlist of these songs for when I need some good vibes.

Which end credit song do you remember most?

When movie theaters found air conditioning. [PetaPixel]
The value of keeping the score. [WaPo - gift link]

The knotty story of knitting, crochet, and lace. [Articles of Interest]
The climate change fighting power of beavers. [Up First]
AI is making scamming easier, but there are signs to help you avoid being a victim. [Booming]
Everything you probably didn't want to know about ticks. [Wellness, Actually]

One of my nostalgic movie watches was Ever After. This film holds up! More two decades later, I can still quote half the script. Drew Barrymore isn't your typical princess pick, but this movie isn't your typical Cinderella. It's way more feminist and creative. I love it. I can't wait to show this one to my kiddo. [Disney+]
I've been meaning to watch The Last Duel for some time. I kept putting it off because I couldn't get over Ben Affleck's bad blonde dye job. But the Ridley Scott direction and medieval historical setting won out. The story structure was interesting. The film is split into three parts and told from each of the main characters point of view. I liked how they showed different interpretations of the same scenes. Jodie Comer is phenomenal in her role as Marguerite. [Amazon]
I managed to squeeze in one documentary this week, What's the Story, Wishbone. Growing up, this was one of my favorites. I never realized just how much effort was put into the creation of this children's show. That care is why it was so good. It was bittersweet to hear that the show ended because it was a victim of its own success. Wishbone was too good, and too highly produced to survive an every day format. It needs a revival. [Amazon]

Before my solo week at home, I swung by Trader Joe's to pick up some things. While I was there, I remembered to grab an item I wanted to try: strawberry brioche style Liège waffles. I expected them to be crunchy. They're much softer but still firm. I liked the flavor, but getting these once was enough. They're a bit sweet. [Trader Joe's]
For some reason, I've been craving a cold shrimp salad. I had a pre-made one on a vacation years ago. It was so good and I've wanted to recreate it. I didn't recall the exact flavor but this Italian shrimp salad seemed like it would come close. I made sure to cook and chill the shrimp before mixing all the ingredients. This one got better the longer it sat in the fridge. I think the shrimp marinated more deeply in the dressing. [Skinny Taste]
Apparently I wanted seafood and cold things this week. I also made crab and corn salad. Our store did not have the chili pepper the recipe called for and nothing available looked like a good substitute. After tasting the mixture, it needed the heat for the flavor kick. I mixed in some red pepper. It worked but the actual pepper would have been better. [SkinnyMs]
Continuing my seafood selections, I rolled into smoked salmon flatbread at the end of the week. This is basically a bagel and lox. There's a bit more to it than that, but not much. It goes really well with a nice champagne. [Real Simple]

The Weekly Wrap: August 16, 2026

8/16/2026

Intro is going to be short this week. Normally, I take this week of the year off. (Everyone deserves a vacation.) But, I forgot to block it out in my calendar, and this post was already half written. So you get a (slightly shorter) Wrap! Just not a real intro. Cause I don't wanna.

Enjoy the links!

Do we need to bring back color? [The Atlantic - gift link]
Racoons are friend-shaped but probably shouldn't be pets. [The Atlantic - gift link]
We're doing our children a disservice by not letting them explore their independence early. Their world keeps shrinking. [NYT - gift link]

Is there an age roadblock in the labor market? [Planet Money]
It can be worthwhile to see where your time actually goes. [Life Kit]
Things are really not going well. [The Daily]
The bots blocking you from touching grass. [Booming]

While my family was here, my dad wanted to check out what our local PBS station offered. We ended up watching a documentary Barry Farm. This is an historic slave plantation, turned public housing, turned displacement for development neighborhood of Anacostia. It was a fascinating look at the history of a few blocks of my city. Also, I can think of several professors who could use this in their courses this year. [Empower DC]

I got my hands on some limited edition cinnamon bun Oreos. They were a disappointment. The flavor was too subtle. I was expecting a center of a gooey, warm cinnamon bun experience. Instead, I got a golden Oreo with a hint of cinnamon. They weren't bad tasting, just way too quiet for my liking.
When I saved Parisian gnocchi with roasted cherry tomatoes, corn, and zucchini, I didn't read the entire recipe first. Rookie mistake. I didn't realize that this dish called for you to make gnocchi from scratch. That wasn't happening. So my dish became "inspired by." I used store bought mini gnocchi, tossed everything on a sheet pan, and tossed it in the oven. Much easier and still delicious. [Serious Eats]

The Weekly Wrap: August 9, 2026

8/9/2026

This past week, one colleague and myself held down the fort at our library while all of our other colleagues were on vacation or using leave for life maintenance.

While we do have summer sessions the first two weeks of August, there aren't many classes. We tend to pile a lot of our vacation leave into this time period because it's the least disruptive.

The most exciting thing that happened this week was our building's fire alarm going off. Renovations are happening on another floor so this happens more often than we'd like. Weirdly, it turned out to be one of the library's smoke detectors that set it off. I was literally in the room with that smoke detector and didn't smell or see anything. Since the library was quiet, I walked around with public safety to puzzle that one over. We still don't know what happened, but I learned a lot about how our fire detection system works.

We've got one more week of reduced staffing, but I'll be someone using leave this time. Cause we're fair like that.

I've only ever taken hotel toiletries. [Simon Mills Male on Sunday]
We have too many ticks. [The Atlantic - gift link]
The objects that make America. [NYT - gift link]
It's about caring and AI can't do that for you. [Men Yell at Me]
We should teach what patriarchy is and what is has done. [Raising Her Voice]

What leads to a toy craze. [Planet Money]
Life has a side quest for you. [Life Kit]
Fighting a parasite with fish. [Short Wave]

I don't know what I was expecting from The Devil wears Prada 2 but it was definitely more fan service than I thought it would. It's not a bad movie but it follows the exact same plot layout of the first film. Beat for beat, any fan could have written this story. I will say, it firmly understands how journalism has changed, and I'm glad it gives a negative assessment of the change. [Hulu]
I forgot how easy it was was to binge watch entire seasons of a show when the episodes are only 42 minutes long. We are plowing through The Last Ship. We've finished three and a half seasons in less than two weeks. This one does fall into the overly convoluted plot line trap, but the writing holds up. Also, I have found it to be prescient about many things both pandemic and political. [Netflix]

I thought I was pushing my luck when I asked the kiddo to eat salmon. So, I picked the recipe that paired it with with a creamy orzo with spinach and mushrooms. Was the fish her favorite? Of course not. But she did eat it. I should have added more mushrooms. The pasta was good but I wanted more fungi. [Eating Well]
We ate three meals that involved spinach this week. The last of them was chicken sausage white bean skillet. I didn't want leftovers so I only used one can of beans. This was an easy one pan meal. Don't skip the smoked paprika - it's a necessary flavor element. [Budget Bytes]
There was a half bag of lentils in my pantry I felt the need to use up. French lentil salad kept landing in my inbox so I took the hint and made it. I love how veggie forward this was. My main regret was choosing tarragon instead of parsley as the herb. I liked the tarragon but parsley would have been better. [Eating Well]

The Weekly Wrap: August 2, 2026

8/2/2026

For most of the summer, I've been working on some accessibility issues discovered on my library's website. (All universities are going through the process of ensuring their web presence is fully accessible.) Back in May, my colleague and I met with a member of the auditing team. After the meeting, the auditor sent us an accessibility report that had been provided from a (free) three-party vendor.

Some of the things were easy fixes. Other things I used Claude's coding capabilities to help with. But the vast majority of errors on the report were either lacking context so I couldn't find the problem, not actually issues, or just plain wrong.

Time and time again, I kept trying to find and fix errors that didn't exist. I went to the third-party vendor and ran our website through over and over. It kept coming back with failures.

Today, I gave my colleague an update on the things I fixed, the things I thought he could fix, and the many issues that seemed unfixable. About 30 minutes later he came back with a review from a different web accessibility tool that said "Aside from this one issue, you're good! The other tool is crap." (The tool my colleague used actually showed where on the page the errors were occurring. It also differentiated between have to fix and should fix.)

I 100% support being fully accessible but if you're web audit sends me an error that says fix this code "<p></p>" with no context or page link or full code snippet, you're not being helpful.

I can't wait until this project is over.

The melody that's in everything. [WaPo - gift link]
Keeping track of your travel memories. [NYT - gift link]
Follow the butterflies. [The Atlantic - gift link]
Why it had to be Matt Damon. [Culture Study]
I you want to match your wine with your sign, read this. [Wine Folly]
Would you want to know? [NYT - gift link]

A brilliant idea that benefits an entire city. [CityCast DC]
Baby shark, do do do! [Short Wave]
Astrology is bad astronomy. [StarTalk]
I need someone to make a movie about this tree. [Atlas Obscura]

lol *cries* [mandziypat]
When The Last Ship first aired, we watched the first season. Then we forgot to come back to it. Now that it's on Netflix, I kept seeing it crop up on recommended lists. So now we're back to binging the entire show. I had vague memories of the first few episodes but, oddly, the plot holds up - even after (maybe even because of) the COVID pandemic. The writing is B-level but the acting is generally better than you'd think for such a genre show. I greatly enjoy the "what if" disaster premise. Also, I can't help but giggle at the clear breaks for commercials. [Netflix]

I tried a new recipe for our meatless Monday. Kiddo has been loving mushrooms (huzzah!) and I thought she'd like portobello “Philly Cheesesteak” sandwiches. These were good but not nearly as good as the vegetarian French dip sandwiches I make. You definitely won't confuse this sandwich with the real thing, but it worth a shot. We served the sammies with the rest of a bag of shoestring fries that was hanging out in our freezer. [Eating Well]
We recently hosted our kiddo's birthday party. We planned for two slices of pizza per kid. They ate far less than that. We were left with over two full pizzas. I froze most of the slices, but I also set aside a few for my work lunches. You know, nothing hits quite like a cold slice of pizza while you scroll through your work email during the lunch hour.

The Weekly Wrap: July 26, 2026

7/26/2026

One of the productive things I did with my week off was clean out our storage cabinets, bookcases, and dressers. I try do this once a year because it gives me a chance to see stuff that is hidden and dust in all the nooks and crannies.

After a few hours, I came away with a few items to donate and a full bag of trash.

How is this possible?

Our place is neat. We stay on top of our donations because our building does a pick-up every two months. Any time something out grows it's usefulness, it goes in our donation bin. I like clear surfaces so things like unopened mail, filing, magazines, and craft projects are handled regularly. We don't let things we don't need linger.

And, yet, whenever I do projects like this, I always find more things to toss and donate.

I'm beginning to think it multiples on it's own when I'm not looking.

Building a stone wall is like editing. [The Atlantic - gift link]
AI doesn't want its own slop. [404]
Heavy credit cards are a status signaler. [The Atlantic - gift link]
A lovely essay about an emotional life transition. [Raising Her Voice]
It's time to end the clock changes. [Your Local Epidemiologist]
I dunno. Still feels like a conspiracy to me. [Real Simple]

How our brain experiences pain. [Hidden Brain]
Archival Listen: The speed of drone racing. [StarTalk Radio]
On potatoes and insults. [Code Switch]
Why AI is raising all your bills. [Galaxy Brain]

Our awesome neighbor offered to babysit since this was my birthday week. We took her up on that offer because I really wanted to see The Odyssey in theaters. As much as I would have loved to see the 70mm and/or IMAX version, that was not in the cards for our window of childcare coverage. So we saw it on a plain old film screen. Like many reviews say, it was quite good. But so loud! I came prepared with earplugs and, even then, there were still scenes where I felt the need to cover my ears. I don't mind long movies, but I think they could have found a total of 30 minutes here and there to clip down. Anne Hathaway is, hands down, the best actor in this one. She is a force of emotion. [IMDB]
The Tour de France is coming to an end and I am preemptively sad. It's been a good tour to follow, but it feels like there have been a lot more injury-related withdrawals than usual. So many broken collar bones from falls and crashes. [Peacock]

I wanted to try something new and a little fancier. I've been meaning to make a galette, and I found a recipe for a mushroom one that would also use up the half tub of ricotta we had in our fridge. Our store's premade pie dough selection was lacking. I ended up depanning two frozen crusts and stacking them on top of one another. The flavor was there, but the look of my galette was quite messy. Let's call it rustic. We served this with some salad. [Mon Petit Four]
The kiddo chose mac and cheese for her meal selection. When I asked if she wanted boxed or "fancy" she picked fancy. Years ago, I made one pot bacon broccoli mac and cheese. It's fancy-ish. You use evaporated milk instead of making a roux or bechamel. It makes things faster while retaining most of the flavor. I love that this one also got our kiddo to eat broccoli without complaint. Both the kiddo and husband asked for more bacon next time. [Budget Bytes]
It seems that the days of our kiddo's severe picky eating are over, but one thing she still struggles with is the texture of cooked chicken breast. I wanted a chicken recipe this week so I settled on cashew chicken lettuce wraps. It's a compromise because it uses ground chicken. The meat mixture was excellent but our store refuses to carry sturdy lettuce for warps. We ended up eating this bowl style with some leftover rice and torn green leaf lettuce. [Eating Well]

The Weekly Wrap: July 19, 2026

7/19/2026

In honor of my summer birthday, I took the coming week off from work. The library is already slow, so it's the perfect time to use some annual leave.

With my week off, I've decided I'm going to do one BIG productive thing a day. The rest of each day I will just putter about doing whatever floats my boat.

But the chore I don't want to do is recycle our electronics. We've got an entire bag (plus a computer monitor!) sitting in a bin in our front closet. This chore is such a pain. There's nothing local. Our city's pop-up collections are sporadic at best. And it seems the stores that collect materials change their rules or costs all the time.

Inevitably, as soon as I tackle what we've already collected, something else will appear that needs to be recycled. It never ends.

So I'm just going to ignore this chore.

It's my birthday week, after all.

Enjoy some gorgeous astrophotography. [Peta Pixel]
There's a mismatch in the labor force. [WaPo - gift link]
Sugar in space! [NYT - gift link]
How rosé is made. [Wine Folly]
We all have some "bad" values that influence the choices we make. [A Cup of Ambition]

Which global threats should we lose sleep over? [Up First]
Must listen! The conversations we should all be having around end of life planning. [Culture Study]
What makes this butterfly live so long? [Short Wave]
The highway with a theme song. [Throughline]
How they made the World Cup pitches. [Short Wave]

While nothing will compare to seeing Project Hail Mary on the big screen, we rewatched it this week, and it's still a phenomenal movie. This one is going on my list of pantheon movies. [Amazon Prime]
We're still watching the Tour de France every night. While the racing on flat stages is (usually) not very exciting, I'm loving the interviews and travel aspects of the coverage. This is what makes the Tour so great! It's more than just a bike race. [Peacock]

Dinner is so much easier now that the kiddo's palette is expanding. Still, I always try to make at least one aspect of the meal relatable. For example, I made fish tacos using a frozen, breaded haddock. (Very close to the fish sticks she already knows.) I topped it with a slaw. I took her portion out before adding the "spicy" flavors. It was yummy! No recipe for this one, mostly just winged it.
Stuffed pepper skillet is all the wonderful flavors of stuffed peppers with a lot less work and cook time. The recipe I made even used a pouch of microwavable rice. I have issues getting raw rice to cook in skillet dishes, so this was a great hack. I didn't drain the canned tomatoes so our dish was a touch "soupier" but the flavors were fantastic. [Eating Well]
For my lunch meal prep, I was inspired by lemony cucumber couscous salad. I subbed the couscous for farro. It had a nice meaty bite. I also tossed in the remains of a bag of arugula we had in our veggie drawer. The addition worked really well with the other flavors. [Budget Bytes]

The Weekly Wrap: July 12, 2026

7/12/2026

Over the past few years, I've discovered how much I love helping people dig into their personal archives. Every person is the archivist of their own life. I've greatly enjoyed helping people learn how to tell, save, and share those stories. On Friday, I hosted a webinar in our personal archiving series on one of the trickiest parts of that work: knowing what to keep.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

Before you start, do some prep work
- Make a list or spreadsheet of what you have
- Identify other stakeholders - family members, friends, local libraries, historical societies
- Write down your goals and any constraints (time, space, money) to keep you focused
Ask some key questions about each item
- Is it irreplaceable?
- Does it tell a story?
- Is it in usable condition?
- Who would care about it?
- What would it take to preserve it?
Some things are almost always worth keeping
- Vital records - if you need it to prove identity, ownership, or connection, keep it
- One-of-a-kind photographs of people or places that no longer exist
- Personal correspondence documenting significant relationships or events
Some things are often safe to let go
- Duplicates (You don't need every photo from every vacation)
- Items kept out of obligation rather than genuine value
- Digital files with no context or identifying information (Random screenshots, anyone?)
For the maybes...
- It's okay to keep things for now and decide later
- Ask yourself: am I keeping the object or the memory? A photo or scan can preserve the memory without keeping the item
- Ask others - sometimes you need permission to let something go or find a reason to keep it
Prioritize what's at risk
- Old photos, obsolete media, and fragile materials should move to the top of your list
- Your phone camera is a perfectly good digitization tool
- Store physical items in cool, dry, dark conditions using acid-free materials
Bonus tips to make the work easier
- Record yourself talking through what you find - your voice is part of the archive
- Download your social media content before platforms change or disappear
- Bring in a family member - the conversations are as valuable as what you find
- Start with one box, one folder, one album and go from there

Curious enough to learn more? The recording is available on my library's YouTube page. I hope it helps you take one step toward preserving your own story.

Punctuation matters. [Experimental Living - reader submission]
Is potato salad quintessentially American? [NYT]
There is irony in this long read about people not reading. [The Atlantic - gift link]
What we call women when they refuse to submit. [Men Yell at Me]
Old tech is making a comeback. [The Atlantic - gift link]
Want to fix the literacy and reading crisis? Hire more school librarians. [The AI School Librarians]

The Onion is doing a good thing for the right reasons. [The Daily]
When life becomes a scoreboard. [99% Invisible]
Catch a falling satellite? [Short Wave]
Does shopping in bulk save you money? [Booming]
When running is not a side quest. [Atlas Obscura]

We are all Tour de France all the time. The race is in the morning and early afternoon, but we watch the replay at the end of the day. If you told me two years ago I'd be this into cycling, I would have laughed at you. While most of the strategy still goes over my head, watching each stage is fascinating. Also, I know he won't podium, but I am rooting for Quinn Simmons. Stache power! [Peacock]

For our meatless Monday pick, I went with fancy tomato sandwiches. (I love a no cook dish on hot weather days!) The kiddo found the baguette we used a bit chewy and needed to deconstruct hers a bit. Don't skip the crispy fried onions. They are a critical part of the flavor. I do think, however, that you could make chive mayo instead of chive butter if you want a creamier spread. I served these with a side of shoestring fries. [Real Simple]
I've been trying to make at least two of our meals vegetarian each week. For our second vegetarian meal, I stirred together cheesy rigatoni skillet with mushrooms and spinach. This turned into a sort of use it up dish as I tossed in a diced up tomato we had and sorta winged it with the cheese. Still tasty. [Budget Bytes]
I used the sous vide to help me make barbecue chicken quesadillas. It's so much easier to cook the chicken this way. Also, I stirred some of the BBQ sauce into sour cream to make a dipping sauce. It was pretty good but I wanted something with a bit more acid. [WaPo - may be paywalled]

The Weekly Wrap: July 5, 2026

7/5/2026

I tried to start this intro a dozen separate times. I went through numerous topics and first sentences. None of my attempts stuck.

Was it the heat dome? Maybe.

Was it my to-do list running through my head? Possibly?

Mostly, however, nothing felt right.

So we're not forcing it. It's a holiday weekend after all.

Here's the Wrap.

Do you need to refrigerate that condiment? [NYT - may be paywalled]
This is a useful baking recipe. [Sally's Baking Addiction]
A timeline of American food culture. [NYT - gift link]
Taxes don't make sense. They really don't make sense if you fall in the marriage gap. [WaPo - gift link]
The tastes of wine. [Wine Folly]
And this is why I avoid the food trucks on the National Mall. [Washingtonian]
Signs you might have been hacked. [Lifehacker]

Constraints are good, actually. [Planet Money]
What's next for the Kennedy Center? [City Cast DC]
Ticks are everywhere this year, but a bite doesn't mean you'll get Lyme disease. [Short Wave]
A kit that can turn your gas car into a hybrid. [Booming]
My flag is awesome. [City Cast DC]

We finished up the most recent season of Clarkson's Farm. I appreciate that they show every aspect of farming. It's not pretty, it's emotionally hard, and things get gross. Some episodes were a lot harder to watch than others. This season may not have been the happiest, but there were still many tender and funny moments. [Amazon Prime]
I knew most of the findings in Downfall: The Case Against Boeing before we watched. The short of it - don't put earnings before safety. Boeing brought this all on themselves and it makes me sad there have not been more business ramifications. [Netflix]

After a weekend full of eating out, I whipped up a panzanella salad for us to enjoy. When I last made the recipe, the husband said it felt more like a side and than main. So, this time around, I made it with shrimp. That did the trick! Grilled chicken would go well with this too. [Skinny Taste]
Summer produce is in full force. Corn and zucchini quesadillas was easy to whip up. This one was good for the kiddo as is (minus the jalapeño). I do wish I had mixed in a diced chipotle in adobo for the the husband and I. That smoky heat would have been a welcome flavor boost. [Serious Eats]
We were invited to a party for the Fourth. I volunteered to bring dessert. I risked making a new recipe without testing it first. Raspberry oatmeal bars were easy and forgiving. I swapped the raspberry for some blackberry preserves we had on hand. It was hard not to nibble these before we brough them to the party. [Budget Bytes]